ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Beaufort scale

Hey there kiddo! Have you ever seen a flag blowing in the wind? Well, sometimes the wind can blow really hard and it's important to know how strong it is. That's where the Beaufort Scale comes in!

The Beaufort Scale is a way to measure how strong the wind is. It starts at 0 which means the wind is very calm, like when you blow bubbles, and it goes all the way up to 12 which means the wind is a super strong hurricane!

Each number on the Beaufort Scale has a different description of what the wind feels like and what you might see happening around you. For example, at a 3 on the scale, called "gentle breeze," you might feel the wind on your face and see leaves moving around. But at a 10, called "storm," you might have trouble walking straight and trees could be uprooted.

The Beaufort Scale was invented a long time ago by a man named Francis Beaufort to help sailors understand how strong the wind was while out at sea. Nowadays, lots of people use it to predict weather conditions for things like planes and boats.

So there you have it, kiddo. The Beaufort Scale is a tool used to measure how strong the wind is and it's important to know so we can stay safe during big storms!